Chapter 19: The end is at the castle

Chapter 19: The end is at the castle

The wagon with no horses visible was like a big boat travelling on ocean waves, and the rice fields, bent by the wind, rose and fell, truly giving the appearance of waves.

"Do we have any destination?"

Jon sat on the stool on the long couch, the top of his head just barely reaching Hagrid's chin, but that was high enough to allow him to see high above the wooden cabinet in front of him and to see the view in the distance.

Hagrid smiled nostalgically when he heard Jon's question, and his gruff voice was unexpectedly soft.

"I asked Dumbledore the same question at the beginning when I started to drive this wagon, and he told me that the moment we stepped into this wagon, there would be only one end to this journey, and that would be to return to that Hogwarts castle that was originally ours."

The breeze blew the bangs from Jon's forehead and a smile appeared on his face as he gently brought his hand upwards with the cup of tea, as if he was saluting someone at a distance.

"It has a very poetic feel to it, I like it!"

"Oh yes, I was almost in tears when I heard him say that. Well, actually I did burst into tears for a while."

"Don't you get bored driving the wagon all by yourself out here?"

"Well, sometimes I do get a bit bored, but it's all right, I've got Beech to keep me company, and I've named every Thestrals in front of me. I almost forgot that you shouldn't be able to see these lovely fellows, the horses that are pulling us are called Thestrals, magical creatures that can only be seen by those who have witnessed death."

Jon really couldn't see the Thestrals, he had never seen anyone die in front of him in his two lifetimes back and forth, but he had died once before, though that didn't seem to help him actually see death and thus be able to witness Thestrals in their full glory.

"What kind of horses are they?"

"Black, with heads that actually look more like dragons, skinny bodies, and a pair of bat-like wings, they are one of the kinds of Pegasus. We can't have them carry us up though, it's not that we can't fly, it's just that the Ministry of Magic has stricter controls on the sky compared to the ground, and if we flew in the sky we'd be an easy target for the Aurors and Death Eaters."

"They can keep running without resting?"

Slughorn opened his mouth in surprise, and at the same time, the toffee packets he was holding in his mouth fell down, which Jon subconsciously caught in his hand from below.

"You're right on time, Jon, the students have gone to eat, and I couldn't find anyone who would help. Go on, take this packet of sweets and follow me, maybe I will share a few with you."

This somewhat snobbish professor treated Jon quite well, as the History of Magic assignment Jon had handed in last week had been much appreciated by him, which, combined with a notable performance in Defence class, had led Slughorn to put Jon on the list of students who could be taken care of, just like Neville.

Justin and Lavender, with their mediocre talent and more common backgrounds, were not on this list.

Jon followed behind Slughorn with the packets of toffees that would have lasted him more than a year if he had been allowed to eat them alone, in his mind, he quietly grumbled that with such a sweet tooth it was no wonder he had such a body.

Slughorn's office is not far from the storeroom, it seems to be a room that he has chosen deliberately.

The office was simply furnished with a set of desks and chairs and a row of bookshelves, although there were a number of pictures of him with other wizards on the walls, and all of them smiling at him with a wink and looking like celebrities, but Jon didn't recognise any of them.

"Just place them over here, don't laugh at me for enjoying them at my age, that's all I have left, one of the terms Dumbledore offered when he recruited me here was that there would be enough sweets to go around, good thing he didn't lie about that."

Slughorn put his things away and invited Jon to sit down, pouring him a cup of black tea in the process, as if he was going to take the opportunity to talk to him about his homework.

"You did quite well on the Defence class homework you handed in last week, Jon, you have gained great knowledge about Dark Magic curses very well."

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